The Cybersecurity Framework That Keeps You and Your Family Safe as You Access Your IRS Records for Stimulus Checks
March 17, 2021
Last week, Congress passed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, which includes unemployment aid, direct payments, tax credit expansions, vaccine distribution funds and state and local government relief, among a range of other provisions.
For many Americans this will mean that $1,400.00 checks will be arriving soon.
Taxpayers who gave their direct deposit information when they filed taxes for 2019 or 2020 will receive their payments electronically this month. For those households for which Treasury cannot determine a bank account, the IRS will send paper checks or debit cards.
While this is mainstream news regarding the payments, there is much more that goes on behind the curtain for the IRS to meet these deadlines. The process for distributing these funds, while on the surface may seem easy, requires lots of innovation and vision from the IRS.
For example, the IRS offers a comprehensive authentication framework for what is a significant government identity access management system. This is part of the Taxpayer First Act, which aims to reinvent the taxpayer experience, through IT modernization efforts.
This will help the agency to securely manage the overall traffic increase to IRS.gov, as a result of citizens checking their records in preparation for receiving their stimulus checks.
A core part of this was a 2020 redesign of the IRS’s taxpayer authorization application, where routine tax transactions can now be done online rather than visiting an in-person IRS assistance center.
As taxpayers and tax professionals prepare for both the 2021 tax season, and receive the new stimulus payments, it’s important to know that there are robust processes and critical innovations that enable the government to meet the financial needs of citizens during a challenging time.
Makpar’s Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) programs helps the IRS offer robust, secure online services. Please click here to learn more about our ICAM capabilities, and contact us here for more information.